Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
USA Today
October 25, 2007
Pg. 13
Police charge member of anti-war group after confrontation
By Oren Dorell, USA Today
Anti-war protesters who interrupted a hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday included a woman who rushed at Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice waving red-stained hands in her face.
Rice was about to take a seat at a table before members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee when a woman from the anti-war group CodePink rushed at her from the gallery behind the table.
She held up her hands inches from Rice's face and yelled at her that she was responsible for the deaths of millions of Iraqis. Rice looked quickly at the woman and then turned to sit down as a man in a suit came from behind Rice and grappled with the woman.
When asked how the episode could have happened, Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider said hearings are open to the public, and officers try to prevent outbursts "to the best of our ability."
Visitors must pass metal detectors and baggage screening and other discreet security measures are also used, she said.
"If someone breaks the law, then the Capitol Police take the appropriate police action," Schneider said.
Edgar Vasquez, a State spokesman, said, "Obviously, we don't feel (Rice) should be confronted in a physical way."
The episode was the latest in a string of protests inside the Capitol since January:
•On Sept. 10, Cindy Sheehan and nine other protesters were arrested outside a hearing room where Army Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker were testifying before Congress.
•In July, Sheehan and 45 other protesters were arrested at the Capitol after Sheehan spent an hour occupying the office of Rep. John Conyers.
•In February and March, protesters staged sit-ins three times in four weeks in the office of Sen. Barbara Mikulski.
The woman who rushed at Rice was identified by Capitol Police as Desiree Anita Ali-Fairooz, 51, of Los Angeles. Ali-Fairooz was charged with disorderly conduct, defacing government property and assault.
After she was taken away, several other protesters for CodePink in the gallery began calling Rice a "war criminal." They fell to the floor as police came to remove them.
Rice was at the hearing room to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian situation. She testified that the creation of a Palestinian state in the Middle East was in jeopardy because Iran fans flames in the region, including "troubling" new support for Hamas, a State-designated terrorist group that seeks the destruction of Israel.
October 25, 2007
Pg. 13
Police charge member of anti-war group after confrontation
By Oren Dorell, USA Today
Anti-war protesters who interrupted a hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday included a woman who rushed at Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice waving red-stained hands in her face.
Rice was about to take a seat at a table before members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee when a woman from the anti-war group CodePink rushed at her from the gallery behind the table.
She held up her hands inches from Rice's face and yelled at her that she was responsible for the deaths of millions of Iraqis. Rice looked quickly at the woman and then turned to sit down as a man in a suit came from behind Rice and grappled with the woman.
When asked how the episode could have happened, Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider said hearings are open to the public, and officers try to prevent outbursts "to the best of our ability."
Visitors must pass metal detectors and baggage screening and other discreet security measures are also used, she said.
"If someone breaks the law, then the Capitol Police take the appropriate police action," Schneider said.
Edgar Vasquez, a State spokesman, said, "Obviously, we don't feel (Rice) should be confronted in a physical way."
The episode was the latest in a string of protests inside the Capitol since January:
•On Sept. 10, Cindy Sheehan and nine other protesters were arrested outside a hearing room where Army Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker were testifying before Congress.
•In July, Sheehan and 45 other protesters were arrested at the Capitol after Sheehan spent an hour occupying the office of Rep. John Conyers.
•In February and March, protesters staged sit-ins three times in four weeks in the office of Sen. Barbara Mikulski.
The woman who rushed at Rice was identified by Capitol Police as Desiree Anita Ali-Fairooz, 51, of Los Angeles. Ali-Fairooz was charged with disorderly conduct, defacing government property and assault.
After she was taken away, several other protesters for CodePink in the gallery began calling Rice a "war criminal." They fell to the floor as police came to remove them.
Rice was at the hearing room to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian situation. She testified that the creation of a Palestinian state in the Middle East was in jeopardy because Iran fans flames in the region, including "troubling" new support for Hamas, a State-designated terrorist group that seeks the destruction of Israel.